Friday, October 17, 2008

Anonymous said... DiVinci DV-1450 scammer in a Suv Do NOT Buy It's a Total SCAM Divinci DV-6030 Divinci D-7

The speakers sold by the speakermen are of exceptionally poor quality, typically obtained for less than $50 from a local distributor.

The speakers themselves have been reported as potentially damaging to any amplifier they are connected to.

The risk of damage stems from an impedence curve that in some cases may drop below 2 ohms, which may overheat, short out, or permanently damage an amplifier not designed to handle such loads.

Do a search for " white van speakers " you'll see how this scam goes See this clip made by a speakerman http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Zx1V6JpFRY

Guy in suv or van drives up to you has these $3000 speakers , extras ?? You can have em for a deal you can't pass up . He will try to get you to give him $50 or more up to $1500.00 for these $40 china speakers.

Look out for the guy in the suv with the cock and bull story about the extra home theater system he's got to unload.

He will tell you it's worth something crazy like 2000 or 3000 dollars show all kinds of crap like receipts , invoices , magazines , ads sheets, etc.

He'll even point you to the company website to prove they are worth the 3 grand. Don't be fooled !

So when he lowers his price to $100.00 you'll think you got the deal of a lifetime. $3000 speakers for $ 100 bucks , no you got a crap set of $40 speakers and paid $100 or more for them.

Just do a search for "white van speakers" and you'll see that not only are they worth only 40 bucks shipped from china , they may also be UNSAFE and damage your system.

Watch out for the speaker guys in suv's or pickup trucks and vans selling home theater equipment.

Many of the sales take place in the parking lots of Best Buy, Home Depot, Circuit City , Banks , Carwashes , Gas Stations , Construction sites , etc heck they will even flag you down while you are driving down the road.

Law enforcement WILL issue citations, as rarely do the speakerguys obtain the proper permits and license to sell "out of a vehicle". In Pennsylvania, the act of selling white van speakers is punishable by up to five years in prison and up to a fine of $10,000 .

Make sure you report this scam to :

1) Local Law enforcement 2) Attorney General 3) City and State Department of Revenue 4) IRS 5) Local TV or Newspapers

Most of these SpeakerFleas

1) Do not obtain proper permits to "sell out of a Van" 2) use lies, fraud, trickery and intimidation to make a sale 3) Most do not collect,report or pay their required by law taxes for sales and income

Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity If you suspect or know of an individual or company that is not complying with the tax laws, you may report this activity by completing Form 3949-A.http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf

A "scambuster" with a local newspaper or television news department might also be interested.

Here's one of many reviews I found ...

I've been involved in the audio industry for over 25 years, and have to say that these speakers have the worst components I've ever seen. As someone who has built and repaired speakers, and written published audio reviews well before the Internet came around, I am appalled at the chutzpah shown by manufacturers and sellers of this junk.

The 'reviews' and 'guides' that speak positively of these things have undoubtedly been posted by those who stand to profit from the sale of these inferior items. Take the Kirsch, Theatre Research, Genesis Media Labs (Genesis PHYSICS was a good brand in the 1980's) and DiVinci speakers, with their glossy ads and websites full of meaningless techno-babble and claims of outrageous 'retail' prices - not that any reputable retailer would carry these dogs.

There are good reasons why they are mostly sold out of the back of white vans, and here, where comparison to good equipment is impossible. Most recently peddlers of the Genesis Media Lab and DiVinci's have trumpeted an ad taken out by the company, and purchase of a booth at an electronics show as evidence that this is an established brand-when you have the kind of profit margins based upon $ 50 worth of components in a "$ 3600" package, I suppose you can afford a booth or an ad.

Imagine if a peddler of fake Rolexes', or 'Rolex quality' watches posted a website claiming that their junk that cost maybe $ 50 to manufacture is worth thousands - that is basically the case we have here.

I've had the opportunity to take apart a number of these speakers, and all I can say is if you read Wikipedia and other search results you obtain from Googling the term "White Van Speakers' or 'White Van Scam' the conclusion that the components are of 'exceptionally poor quality' is well founded.

For example, as I write this, there are at least 3 pairs of the "K803 Prodigy" speakers being posted on E Bay for $ 1500 or more, yet superior drivers (the speaker drivers -woofers, tweeters, midranges and the like) can be had for $ 15 or less per driver. The internal electronics such as the crossovers, are by far, the absolute worst I've ever seen in nearly 3 decades as a hobbyist.

The DiVinci hucksters have the nerve to advertise their 'high energy crossover', which is a $2 piece of junk - a good crossover is complex, not inexpensive, and is critical to sound quality. Even the glossy cabinets are made of cheap, lightweight wood, whose resonances distort the already awful sound, and lack the internal bracing you will find on quality speakers.

The drivers on the Kirsch and DiVinci "$ 3000 pair" (K803- DiVinci 1740-Dahlton- same speaker) are pretty much the same as on another set of these towers sold under an earlier "White Van Scam" name that a friend bought for $ 59 in a local pawn shop- one set of DiVinci's' is listed for $ 2500 buy it now - that is on line piracy.

Just for fun, we compared these Kirsch 803 beasts' to a pair of Infinty SM-255's bought off of E Bay for $ 300, using both analogue and digital sources, receivers and high end separate electronics. A sound level meter was used to ensure that the listening occured at the same volume level.

One of the girlfriends said it best : the Kirsch sounded like a clock radio compared to the Infinity's and one thought that a clock radio might sound better. Technical measurements confirmed what our ears told us - a ragged response curve that is the worst I've ever seen, bar none.

Maybe it was unfair - the Infinity's weigh 77 pounds versus 28 for the Klipsch... er Kirsch - but then the Kirsch is a $ 3000 speaker, the Infinities were $ 1000 new ... the weight alone should tell you just what junk the White Van Speakers are. We also compared the Kirsch with a vintage set of Klipsch KG-3.5's which you can get for around $ 200-250 - needless to say they blew the K-803 Prodigy away.

We've also performed listening tests comparing the "$ 2495"- oh please - Kirsch K3 home theatre system to a vintage set of Infinity Qb speakers dating back to the 1980's, which you can buy for $ 150 or so; a Samsung Home Theatre in a box and to Logitech Z-5300 and Klipsch Pro Media 5.1 computer speakers, hooked to a 5.1 receiver via the headphone jack ( a decent option for a small room).

Experienced listeners suggested the best use of the Kirsch's was as a boat anchor or firewood, kids unanimously preferred the other sets and as one eloquently put it - ' the fancy ones stink like poo.' You would be much better off with a used set from Energy, Polk, or another quality speaker company.

I also had the (dis) pleasure of listening to a set of the "$ 3600" DiVinci's often posted here - even the best electronics cannot make a silk purse out of these sow's ears. We compared the DiVinci 607 model to a Polk RM-6800 5.1 home theater set up that can be had for $ 400 or less- $3200 less than theDiVinci's so called retail value.

It was no contest-- as my 12 year old put it 'where did all the instruments go' - there was no category- NONE- imaging, detail, tightness of bass- you name it- where the DiVinci's were remotely competitive.

Not only are the speakers unspeakably bad, the 'receivers' included with the DiVinci, Theatre Research, Digital Research and other "White Van Brands' lack even basic AV functions such as Dolby and DTS processing, and HDMI and component video outputs -as well as measuring and sounding horribly - try watching "Master and Commander" with one of these pieces of 'bleep'- a used Denon, Yamaha or Onkyo at any price is light years superior.

With profit margins that would make oil companies jealous, I can see where they could now buy ads in magazines - one E Bay posting claims they are an 'established high end speaker' - you would have to be high to consider these anything but the low level junk they are. Scam is not a strong enough term, and these have earned their place on rip-off report.com

TR-3015 TR-3215 TR-0412 TR-9500 TR-9700 Theater Research TR-5210 Professional Home Theater Theater Research TR-5160 Theater Research TR-6000 Theater Research TR-6020 Theater Research TR-6030 Theater Research TR-6100 Digital Sound/5.1 Home Cinema Theater Research TR-6120 Theater Research TR-7010 Theater Research TR-8010 Theater Research TR-8810 Theater Research Pro Series III Professional Home

Bought speakers out of the back of a van or suv ? We found the guy that's been ripping people off. Robert M Sullivan dob June 03, 1968

Please copy and repost often

May 21, 2008 7:04 PM

1 comments: Cush said... These guys stopped me on the road in Mt. Washington back in august last year. They showed me the speakers and everything you said was 100% true. What a scam!

May 22, 2008 8:51 PM

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